Vacuum bottle



March 12, 1940. A. B. PROUGH VACUUM BOTTLE Filed June "7, 1939 a VI/JMWM Patented Mar. 12, 1940 VACUUM BOTTLE Ard Baker Prough, Johnstown, Pa. assignor of one-fourth to Frances Perry Mauro, Washington, D.' 0.

Application June 7, 1939, Serial No. 277,934

.8 Claims. (Cl. 215-55) This invention relates to heat insulating botties or containers, and particularly "to thatclass inwhich the cover of the container when removed and inverted serves as a drinking cup.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple means whereby the stopper is pressed and held firmly in position to effect a tight closure of the bottle and to prevent leakage, without forcing the stopper so tightly into the bottle neck as to make its removal difficult.

Another object of the invention is to provide latching means whereby the cover or cup memher is automatically attached to the stopper in the act of closing the bottle; the construction being such that, in removing the cover-from the bottle, the stopper will be withdrawn from the bottle neck and can then be readily detached from the cover.

Another object of the invention is to provide 30 means, as a part of, or as auxiliary to, the latch- 7 30 Fig. l is a view in vertical section, partly diagrammatic, showing one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of self-latching means of a difierent construction from that shown in 35 Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showingan" embodiment of the invention in which the respective positions of the several members of the latching device are the reverse of those shown 40 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a similar view, showing latching means similar in principle to that shown in Fig. 2, but in which the positions of the several members are the reverse of those shown in Fig. 2.

The container 5 and cover 6 of the bottle may be of any known or suitable construction. The container 5 has the usual shoulder portion 1, which isscrew-threaded as shown at 8 in Fig. 1, for engagement with corresponding internal 5'.) screw threads on the cover 6.

Stopper 9 may be of cork, rubber, or other suitable material. It is perforated axially from top to bottom for reception of a pin or bolt l0, near the upper end of which is fastened an encircling disk or washer H, resting on stopper 9. Bolt I0 has a screw threaded socket at its lower end and is engaged by an adjusting screw l2, whereby the cork or other substance forming the stopper can be compressed vertically and correspondingly en larged in diameter when necessary to insure a tight fit. j

Pin l0 carries at its upper end, and preferably integral with it, a button or head l3 oflarger diameter than the pin. The underside of button 13 forms an annular shoulder, and its upper surface is convex or rounded so that it acts as a spreader for the latching means as presently described. v

In the embodiment of the invention'shown in Fig. 1 the latching means 14 consists of a piece of spring metal, shaped as'shown so as to form a flat middle portion, whereby it may be attached by soldering, riveting or otherwise, to the interior of cover portion 6, and two opposite, extremities, which approach each other and are so positioned as to snap under button I3. and to be engaged by the'shoulder' thereon after being spread apart by the head or button I3.

In closing the bottle, the stopper is inserted in the neck of the bottle, but is not pressed tightly in. The cover is then engaged with the threaded portion of shoulder l of the container and screwed to the limit as usual. In the course of this operation the convex head l3 of pin 10 spreads apart the latches formed by the ends of spring i4 until said ends snap under the edge of head l3. This automatic action of the latching means does not hinder the continued rotation of cover 6, which continued rotation presses the stopper tightly into place; the dimensions and the adjustment of the several parts being such that, when the rotation of the cover is arrested, the stopper will be in position to effect a water-tight closure.

In the reverse operation, the cover rotates freely until the spring latches begin to exert lifting pressure on head l3 of pin l0. From that point the rotation of the cover, besides releasing it from engagement with the screw threaded shoulder of the bottle, also serves to pry up the stopper and eventually to lift it out of the mouth of the bottle. Due to the effective leverage afforded by the screw-thread engagement'of the cover and bottle, the release of the stopper from the bottle-neck is effected with relatively little effort, however tightly the stopper is forced into 1 the same. stopper have been removed from the bottle, the stopper can readily be detached from the cover;

The embodiment of the inventionshown in When the cover and, the-attached.

ment of the invention there shown is in all essential respects the same as that shown in Fig. 1, except that the spreader I3 is attached at I6 to the under side of the cover 8, as by a screwthreaded pin, and the spring latching means I4 is attached to pin Ill, as by a screw I1. One reason for preferring this arrangement is that thereby the cover 6 can better serve as a cup, since the presence of the latching means therein would make it more difficult to clean the cup.

It is preferred moreover, to use positively acting latching means, such as pawls, instead of the spring latching means shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Thus, in Fig. 2 is shown an arrangement in which the spreader I3 is a part of pin ID, as in Fig. 1. But as shown in this figure the latching means consistsof a bracket 20, having two depending lugs'2I, in each of which is pivoted a pawl 22, rectangular in form, whose horizontal arms extend towards each other and towards spreader -I3-,. each of said arms being beveled at its end, so that it will be tilted upwards to permit passage of the spreader I3 and by gravity will engage the annular shoulder thereof. This engagement will obviously be maintained until the cover and stopper are lifted away from the bottle, when the stopper can be readily detached from the cover to permit use of the latter as a cup.

Fig. 4. shows in vertical section and partly diagrammatically an embodiment of the invention in which the latching means comprises a pair of pawls 22 each pivoted between a pair of uprights 25 supported by washer II at the upper end of pin I0.

shown in this figure the spreader I3 is screwed to the cover; but obviously it could be attached thereto in any other convenient manner. Y

, The construction shown in Fig. 4 has this advantage: In case it is desired to use the cup without removing the stopper, it is only necessary to turn the bottle bottom up; whereupon the pawls 22 will turn slightly on their pivots by gravity,

releasing them from engagement with button I3 and permitting removal of the cup without the stopper.

Manifestly the invention is susceptible of many modifications in details of construction and of various embodiments other than those described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

It is evident that the latching means, whether composed of a pair of spring jaws or catches (as inFigs. l and 3) or of positively acting catches (such as the pawls shown in Figs. 2 and 4) do not interfere with the free rotation of the cover after their engagement with the shoulder of spreader I3, this being an essential feature of the device.

I claim:

1. In a vacuum-bottle, the combination of a container and a cover adapted for screw-thread engagement with each other, a stopper and a self-latching device one member of which is carried by said cover and the other by said stopper.

2. In a vacuum bottle comprising a container having an external screw thread, a cover having a corresponding internal thread, a stopper and a self-latching device comprising two members, one of which is carried by said cover and the other by said stopper, said members being adapted for automatic attachment to each other in the act of screwing said cover in place on said container. 7

3. A vacuum bottle as specified in claim 1 in which the latching device is composed of a head or button with rounded top and a latching member comprising a plurality of catches arranged to be spread apart by said head or button and to engage the shoulder thereon.

4. A vacuum bottle as specified in claim 2 in which the self-latching device consists of a plurality of spring catches.

5. A vacuum bottle asjspecified in claim 2 in which the self-latching device consists of a plurality of positively acting latches.

6. A vacuum bottle as specified in claim 2 in which the self-latching device consists of a plurality of pivoted pawls '7. A vacuum bottle as specified in claim 2 in which the self-latching device is attached to the stopper of the thermos bottle.

8. A vacuum bottle as specified in claim 2 in 

